[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 38 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E255-E256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING ELAINE BROWN ON HER 75TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 5, 2018

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 75th birthday of 
Elaine Brown, a community leader, civil rights activist, and advocate 
for the underrepresented.
  Elaine Brown was born on March 2, 1943, in North Philadelphia, an 
area affected by significant poverty and racial segregation. She

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was raised by her mother, Dorothy Clark, who worked to support her and 
instilled in her a love of music. Starting with classical piano 
lessons, Elaine grew as a songwriter and eventually moved to Los 
Angeles to pursue music as a career.
  In LA, she engaged with the civil rights movement, and after the 
assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Brown was motivated to join 
the Black Panther Party. As a party member, she helped establish the 
groundbreaking Free Breakfast for Children Program, Free Busing to 
Prisons Program, and Free Legal Aid Program.
  In 1968, Brown was commissioned by David Hilliard, the Party Chief of 
Staff, to record the album ``Seize the Time,'' which includes the 
anthem of the Black Panther Party. The Party's co-founder, Huey P. 
Newton, later commissioned her to record a second album, ``Until We're 
Free'', to promote the party's message, ``All Power to the People.''
  In August of 1974, Elaine Brown took over as the chair of the Black 
Panther Party--the first and only woman to lead the revolutionary 
organization. Under her leadership, the party focused on electoral 
politics and community service. In 1977, she managed Lionel Wilson's 
victorious campaign to become Oakland's first black mayor. That same 
year, I was proud to work on her trailblazing campaign for the Oakland 
City Council.
  After leaving the party in 1977, she wrote her memoir ``A Taste of 
Power: A Black Woman's Story'' in 1982 and returned to her work on the 
struggle of black liberation and prison reform. In 1996, Brown moved to 
Atlanta, Georgia, and founded Fields of Flowers, Inc., a non-profit 
committed to providing educational opportunities for impoverished 
African American children.
  Elaine also founded Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice and the 
Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee, where she spent nearly two 
decades supporting the legal appeal of Michael ``Little B'' Lewis, who 
was wrongly accused of murder and tried as an adult at 13. Elaine wrote 
The Condemnation of Little B, exposing racism that affects millions of 
poor African Americans and the barbarity of trying children as adults. 
In 2003, Brown co-founded the National Alliance for Radical Prison 
Reform and has continued her advocacy by frequently lecturing at 
colleges and universities throughout the country.
  Elaine continues to co-author many books and serves in leadership 
roles for various committees, and is the CEO of a non-profit 
organization, Oakland & The World Enterprises, Inc. which is dedicated 
to launching and sustaining for-profit businesses for cooperative-
ownership by the formerly incarcerated and those facing monumental 
social barriers.
  On a personal note, Elaine has been a ``comrade'' and friend since 
the early 1970's, whose friendship, intellect, and life's work I deeply 
appreciate and admire.
  Today, on behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, it is 
my honor to celebrate Elaine Brown and her accomplishments, advocacy 
and contributions for the underrepresented. Her work toward the 
empowerment of women and minorities, especially African Americans, is a 
true inspiration to many.

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